V 



THE MUSK-OX 



ALTHOUGH there is nothing in the appearance 

 or in the life of the musk-ox to suggest romance, 

 yet the Indians and the Eskimo surround it with 

 much mystery. They say it is not like other 

 animals, that it is cunning and plays tricks on 

 them, that it is not safe to approach, that it under- 

 stands what is said. The Indians among whom 

 I travelled have a tradition that long years ago a 

 woman wandered into the Barren Grounds, was 

 lost, and finally turned into a musk-ox by the 

 "enemy." Perhaps this accounts for the occa- 

 sional habit these Indians have when pursuing 

 musk-oxen of talking to them, instructing them 

 as to the direction of their flight, etc. Several 

 authors maintain that these Indians, when hunt- 

 ing, do not talk to other animals ; but I have 

 heard them jabbering while hunting caribou after 

 the same manner they do when running after 

 musk-oxen. Why the Indians should consider 



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